In recent years, we have seen a resurgence (read: deluge) of foreign acts visiting Philippines as part of their tour. Chances are, a lot of us have been to at least one of the concerts from foreign acts.

We have bought tickets, but have we ever wondered about the concerns of those who sell them? Recently, a Philippine ticketing company sought the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to determine whether it should be subject to foreign equity restriction in view of the business in which it is engaged on.

SEC-OGC Opinion No. 17-12 dated Sept. 19, 2017 is an illustrative opinion on what constitutes "retail trade" under Republic Act (RA) 8762, otherwise known as the Retail Trade Liberalization Act of 2000 (RTLA).

Of equity restrictions on retail trade